Retire Early and Travel! Part 1 of 2: Ep. 141

Retire Early and Travel! Many people have the dream to retire early and enjoy a peaceful and happy life. Some have special reasons to retire early and this episode is all about how to retire early and travel to your heart’s content. Our guests Keith and Tina Paul will enlighten us on how you can retire early and travel even if you have a tight budget. Both Tina and Keith are early retirees and live abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador. The retired just at the age of 55 to travel and see the world and Keith never wants to go to work for a single day in his life again! How they decided to retire early and travel Tina and Keith have known each other since they were 18 years old and got married at 24. They shared a strong love and passion for traveling and chanced upon the idea of living abroad when they were visiting Guatemala. They met a couple living there and found that they could live there for less money than in the USA. Their kids also worked and lived abroad, and Tina and Keith wanted a glimpse of their lifestyle. They got to working on their plans as soon as they got home. Keith did the math to make sure that financially they could retire, and they would be able to live off their money in some less expensive country. They started Googling places to live and zeroed in on Cuenca in Ecuador. Advice for someone who wants to retire early and live abroad Keith and Tina tell us that we don’t need a lot of money to live abroad or travel. It helps to have savings, but you can also live off your Social Security check in a place like Cuenca. The couple runs a website Retire Early and Travel where they write their experiences and post pictures of their travels. How did they choose WHERE to live? Just a simple process of elimination really. They made a wish list of 10 things they wanted and checked places off as it matched them. Tina and Keith wanted a walkable city and a nice climate like Southern California. They already loved Latin culture and spoke a bit of Spanish which made them fall for Cuenca. Another advantage was that they could travel back to the USA whenever they pleased due to geographical proximity. They decided to live in  Cuenca, Ecuador! Cuenca became the destination of their dreams. It has a lot of expats, pleasant 70-degree weather with very less seasonal changes and a buy city which ensured they don’t end up getting bored! Cuenca is situated at 8,500 feet, and you don’t find any bugs and mosquitoes to ruin your peace. The best thing about Cuenca is that you can live here on a monthly income of about $1,000. This was was never possible back in the United States. For a couple, you can live comfortably for $2,000 a month which includes everything like rent and food plus extras for things like eating out and entertainment! They even live in a 4,600 sq. ft. house for which they pay $1000 a month in rent. Keith says that they have everything they need to have a comfortable lifestyle. They may not get all American brands but they can eat organic vegetables brought fresh from the farm without any harmful chemicals, pesticides, or preservatives. They even get produce for a lot cheaper than in the United States. When I asked them about the things they find difficult in Cuenca, Keith only had to complain about high shipping charges and lack of same-day delivery from Amazon! If you want to know how to retire early, you can visit their website Retire Early and Travel. It also has some nice articles on how to earn while you are retired and gives you best travel deals and hacks to make your dreams real! Connect with Keith and Tina * E-mail: [email protected] * Website: https://www.retireearlyandtravel.com * Twitter: @retiretravel